Questions about roof repair/replacment.

[micky]

I need a new roof, or a repair of the old one.

The shingles are still very good. One plywood sheet is sagging an inch at the top. The recommended repair is just the ridge rail, the fan, one sheet of plywood, and the shingles above it. Why not just repair it and then replace the whole roof in 5 or 10 years. (The roof is 13 years old now) (Shingles used to patch it likely won't perfectly match what's there now, and though I don't spend much time looking at roofs, I don't recall anyone else here with unmatched shingles, and I don't rmember it being a violation of any HOA rule.)

Is there any problem mixing 1/2" plywood with 3/8"? Will it look funny from the ground? I think it has 3/8" now, going back to 1979. (It's not the problematic fire-resistant.)

Is there a point to putting shingles over the ridge vent? Does it make a plastic ridge vent last appreciably longer?

One roofer is suggesting architectural shingles. Are they made out of a different material or are they just thicker? Their shape, alternate wide and narrow, will clash with my next-door attached townhouse (and every house in the n'hood.) Would any of you care about that? He says it's guaranteed for 50 years, transferrable to next owner. Is that as good as it sounds, or will the next roofer say the warranty is void** because the plywood is soft after 70 years (most of it is 40 years old now and 30 years from now, long before the 50 year warranty is over, it will be 70 years old.) **OR, the warranty is good but it doesn't matter because we have to rip off the warranted shingles to replace the plywood and we can't reuse the shingles.

Is there a problem using a roof fan that is larger than necessary? Any experience with the GAF fan that has WiFi/Bluetooth remote control? Is it of any use? I have full width soffitt vents in the front and back of a townhouse. (Let's not do one more round of telling me I don't need a roof fan. Every time I mention the fan, people claim I don't need it but my experience is different, my mind is made up, and by now it's just annoying.)

[Jack Legg Roofing LLC]

Have you considered calling Jasper Roofing for a quote? I don't have their number handy but they're located next door to Jasper Towing.

[Ed Pawlowski]

Either way can work, I'd base my decision on dollars. At 13 years you can have from 5 to 10 years left on the shingles. If the fix is cheap enough it is a good way to go, but if it is getting close to half the cost of new, I'd go with new and be done.

Architectural shingles are heavier and will last longer. Regular shingles should last about 20 years. Will you last 20 years? I know at my age I want the job to last as long as I do so I don't have to play with it when I'm 87 if I last that long.

As for appearance of the architectural, take a ride around the neighborhood to see what others have done. Or you can be the pioneer starting a new trend.

I'd not oversize the fan by much. You need ventilation, not a hurricane pulling stuff through. No real benefit

[trader_4]

What's a ridge rail? You mean ridge vent?

the fan, one

What was identified as the cause of this problem?

(The roof is 13 years old

Probably depends on the color, but they will look better in a couple years as they weather and blend in.

I think you're wrong and I doubt 3/8 was permitted. Is the roofer suggesting to mix? If so, time for a new roofer. What happens if shingles wind up getting nailed near a transition? And what's the point to using a different thickness for one section?

The ones I'm familiar with require cap shingles, they are not intended to be left totally exposed. And it makes it look better, close to a regular roof with cap shingles.

That's the smart one.

Both, probably and they have a different more complicated and nicer look to them, as well as last longer.

That's a problem, you're going to look like a hippie weirdo and the neighbors will probably kick your ass too.

If the roof is done right, vented right, shingles replaced before they fail, the plywood should not go soft. And the next roofer isn't going to say anything about this roofer's warranty, he has nothing to do with it. If it's a warranty from the manufacturer, they will have to deal with it.

(most of it is 40

What specific shingles is in the proposal? What does the manufacturer say about the lifespan? Architectural last longer, but 50 sounds too long to me. Is that guarantee from the roofer or the manufacturer and what exactly does it say? I'd bet that if someone went with a problem at 30 years, good chance they would find some way not to pay it. Also, does it cover the shingles and labor or just shingles?

Yes. If there is insufficient intake openings, it creates excessive negative pressure in the attic, which will suck cold air from inside the house into the attic through any available cracks, electric outlets, etc.

Yes, to GAF and the installer. When the electronic BS fail in the hot attic, they get to sell and install a new one.

I have full width soffitt vents in the front and back

Just to be clear, the reason people said no fan is because you have a ridge vent. With your cooling problem, how much insulation is in the attic? More insulation into an 80s house would probably have a reasonable payback time.

[Ralph Mowery]

Being a town house there may not be that many shingles involved for the whole roof. As mentioned, the repair may be a good percentage of the whole roof.

Be sure to get several estiments. I replaced my shingles of about 28 squares a few years back. The price was 2 bids around $ 8500, one bid about $ 12,000 and another $ 18,000. I went with the next to the lowest. They had shingles rated for something like 40 or 50 years like the others. I think the fellow was low on estimating the size by about

2 squares. I tried to tell him that, but he insisted the satalitte view of the house and his computer program was right. Sure enough he was off by that much, but the price was the same. I had rough guessed about 30 squares and I helped one other pull a tape around the house and he said 29 squared. They were here after the satalitte man. About 8 Mexicans showed up and the head man just looked at the shingles that had been dropped off the day before and said he did not think there were enough. At the end of the day he and I were right.

[Clare Snyder]

Several companiies including Certainteed make a polymer modified aspheult shingle with a 50 year warranty. They are only madein architectural style AFAIK. They appear to be an EXCELLENT shingle at a more reasonanble price than steel. I used Certainteen NorthGate for my replcement roof this year. They are flexible like rubber and difficult to tear

[invalid unparseable]

I did not put out bids two years ago and hired the guy that had done my roof 25 years ago. I did request his bid and from others had a good idea what to expect and got a great bid. I got 30 year shingles as they will outlast me. As a contractor there were changes I had not anticipated like subbing the bulk of the work to a Hispanic crew. I also had him do new gutters and downspouts and he did a great job. Unlike the first time he did my roof which was the second one, it was a tear off and took a few days vs just one day for the second roof. He also pointed out a couple of slightly low spots due to rafters and recommended that since they were hardly noticeable and just cosmetic it was not worthwhile to fix them.

[ʎǝʞɔᴉɯ]

Is Jasper Roofing CertainTeed SELECT ShingleMaster Credentialed?

[Ed60062]

Given that you are in a townhome development with rules and regulations, make sure to check that you aren't restricted on type or color of roofing that is allowed.

[micky]

Another question has come up.

It seems the original roof had 3/8" plywood and one roofer wants to patch it with some sheets of 1/2" plywood, which he says is better.

The other roofer says it will leave valleys that water will collect in, and that's bad.

I can certainly see if the thicker stuff is below the thinner stuff, there would be a 1/8" dip, at an angle** which makes the dip a little less, and a bit of water would sit there until it evaporated or sunk in, but isn't the roof supposed to be waterproof?

**Roof is 2:5 I think. Prefab trusses.

Will every replacement sheet of plywood be noticeable from the street, two stories down, because plywood is 1/8" thicker. Should they use

3/8th to patch 3/8ths?

[micky]

And one gutter has fallen down (for reasons I could explain) and bent a lot and is not resusable, but the downspout is good. In the front, the last two feet are sagging and need one or two gutter screws.

So one roofer says he wants to replace the whole thing, at least in the back, because they're rusting. I say, it's aluminum. He says the screws are rusting. That would have to be the screws for the one downspout, which show no visible signs of coming loose. I haven't looked to see if the heads are rusty but I don't think he did either.

Even if he uses a different brand of gutter, there is no problem connecting new gutter to an existing aluminum downspout, is there?

If an aluminum downspout lasted 40 years, any reason it can't last another 40?

[Ed Pawlowski]

Sure, 1/2" is better and they probably have a hundred sheets in the shop but have no 3/8". I never would have though the 1/8 would be noticeable once the shingles are down but I'm not an expert on it. I'd not do it for ceramic tile though.

[Ed Pawlowski]

Can't say for sure not seeing it. Sometimes, taking apart the old, straightening or cleaning it is more time and cost than just going with new. Not worth quibbling over $50 in material on a big job. Go new and be secure with it.

[hubops]

This is becoming quite the soap opera ! I hope you post a few photos when the job is all done - showing the mis-matched shingles over the mis-matched plywood with the mis-matched gutter & downspout ... Any _one_ of these _might_ be forgiven on the rear of a townhouse .. done by a DIY'er .. but ... most decent contractors don't want to have their trucks visable at an ugly hack-job. ... unless you're hiring the cut-rate contractor who doesn't have his business name or number on his truck ? John T.

[hubops]

I helped a guy re-shingle his pre-fab home - - many years ago - the early <cheapo> days for pre-fab - - the sheathing was very thin - we soon learned to step carefully onto the truss/supports - if accidently stepping between - it was a big fear of putting your boot through the roof ! .. didn't happen to any of us - but a very uncomfortable feeling ! Black shingles on a scorching hot sunny day - leaving our boot-prints in the new shingles .. half the ball team working - .. the owner probably spent more on beer & burgers than he saved on labour. John T.

[Clare Snyder]

Thicker above thinner won't cause an issue, but you WILL see it from the street with 3-tab shingles. With "high def" architectural shingles the line will virtually dissapear with the new roof installation - but MAY telegraph through over time. A roof is supposed to be "highly water resistant" and "weatherproof" but don't necessarilly count on it to be "waterproof" as in being able to hold standing water like a pail or a swimming pool.

How many sheets of plywood would it take to do the complete street side of the roof? I'd be sorely tempted to replace the whole face with 1/2 inch. I know I'll never put 3/8" plywood - or anything other than fir - roof decking on anything bigger than a dog-house again after the issues Ihad on my shed roof.

[Clare Snyder]

The labour to save and re-use the old stuff will go a long ways towards replacing with new.

[Clare Snyder]

I'd never put ceramic tile over 3/8 - but wouldn't the thinset compensate for 1/8"??? When I put in the ceramic in the foyer I used Ditra with modified thinset and 1/8 inch would not even have been visible

[Clare Snyder]

My first roof ( at 14) was on 1 inch board sheathing. Black shingles on a 12:12 in August. I learned about roof jacks on that job. And also about keeping track of where the board gaps were. Roofing nails going into air don't hold much - - -

[trader_4]

+1

Without seeing it, who knows. But if a crew has to spend half an hour trying to straighten out some mangled gutter, it's not worth it. And then the contractor knows that if they try to fix it, a lot of times some customers are still not satisfied with how it looks, or blames them later when the rest comes loose, etc.